Medical Disqualification/Remedial Letter

My son, received a medical disqualification/remedial letter from DODMERB on 23 December 2010 for a “History of any dislocation, subluxation, or instability of the shoulder”. My son dislocated his shoulder during his 8th grade wrestling season and had an arthroscopic surgical repair that same year for a Bankart Lesion. My son returned to varsity wrestling within 9 months of the repair without further incidence of injury. A second surgery was required in his sophomore football season to remove a foreign body in his shoulder. My son returned to football three weeks after the surgery. He has not had any further issues with his shoulder while playing three years of football (varsity offensive line and special teams), competing in combative martial arts, and being involved in a rigorous strength and conditioning program during his high school tenure.

The two treating physicians are willing to write letters on my son's behalf, as are his various coaches noting that my son's shoulder was not an issue of concern during his sports career. My son's shoulder has a full range of motion, excellent bilaterally equal strength throughout his shoulder girdle, and he does not have any anomalies associated with is his injury or surgeries. I am unable to provide a letter regarding my son's successful physical therapy as I am the person who rehabilitated his shoulder and the letter would give the appearance of bias.

I have several questions regarding my son's ability to ascertain a waiver. Will this medical disqualification hinder his potential for an AROTC scholarship during the January 2011 board selection? What are the measures we need to take to process my son's waiver so he can obtain his Army ROTC scholarship? Will we receive information from Cadet Command or from the particular AROTC programs at his selected schools regarding the waiver/remedial process or we will receive further guidance from DODMERB?

I look forward to your guidance and I appreciate your willingness to help my son with his military career.